Load handling apparatus



Oct. 4, 1960 H. E. MESCHER ETAL 2,954,997

LOAD HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 18. 1959 2 Sheets-Sheetl Ii J 1;]INVENTOR. 0 Harold E. Mescher 6 Sven O. Rosensson Attorney Oct. 4, 1960H. E. MESCHER ETAL 2,954,997

LOAD HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 18. 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORHarold E. Mescher Sven O. Rosensson Attorney Patented Oct. 4, 19%

LOAD HANDLING APPARATUS Harold E. Mescher, Rivera, and Sven O.Rosensson,

Alhambra, Califi, assignors to Pacific Scientific Company, SanFrancisco, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Feb. 18, 1959, Ser.No. 794,050

8 Claims. (Cl. 294-110) This invention relates generally, to apparatusfor handling loads or equipment which are inaccessible to directpersonal contact due, for example, to the high temperature of the load,or picking up or placing the same in areas difficult to access byoperating personnel, or where the load consists of containers ofdangerous chemicals, etc., and the invention relates, more specifically,to a novel load handling apparatus that can be suitably carried by abuilding crane and/or lifting chain and cable mechanism and whichapparatus is suitable, for example, for lifting material or parts to beheat treated into a high temperature furnace and thereafter for movingthe material or parts into a quenching tank. Such load handlingapparatus embodies novel coupling means whereby the load may be coupledto the building crane lifting cable and uncoupled therefrom without thenecessity of using manual contact with the load.

In the heat treatment of materials and particularly the heat treatmentof large members such as airplane or missile parts it is often necessaryto pick up the material or members and raise the same into a heattreating furnace wherein the material is heated to a desired hightemperature and thereafter the material or members are lowered into aquenching tank, which operations must be performed without operatingpersonnel being present in the immediate vicinity of the material ormembers being treated due to high temperatures existing in and about thefurnace. Also, in the handling of dangerous chemicals it is desirablethat operating personnel do not get too close to the material beinghandled.

It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to providea novel load handling apparatus that is capable of receiving material ormembers to be processed or handled in a suitable convenient placewhereupon the apparatus is adapted to be picked up by an overhead craneand/or lifting chain and cable mechanism and moved to a point such asinto a furnace where the material or members are to be used or operatedupon and which may be moved through a series of desired operationswithout the material or members being directly handled by personnel, thenovel load handling apparatus being designed so as to withstand hightemperatures, injurious chemicals, and other diflicult environmentaluses.

A feature of the present invention is to provide a novel coupling memberthat is adapted to automatically couple a load to a cable or chain of alifting apparatus such as a building crane when desired and which isalso capable of automatically disconnecting the load from the cable orchain as desired, whereby loads may be handled conveniently withoutpersonnel coming in contact therewith.

Still another feature of the present invention is to provide a novelload handling apparatus of the above character having spider members forcarrying a load, together with suspension rods and adjustable hold down2 means for retaining the load in a desired position upon the loadhandling apparatus.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent after a perusal of the following specificationtaken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the novel load handling apparatus ofthis invention,

Fig. 2 is a partial transverse sectional view of the upper spider andcoupling member shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a reduced fragmentary view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2looking in the direction of the arrows,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view partly in section illustratingthe manner of inserting the cable carrying coupling pin into or out ofthe upper spider of the apparatus,

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 taken along line 55 of Fig. 3 .andillustrates the initial movement of the coupling pin preparatory toremoving the same from the coupling member, and

Fig. 6 "shows the coupling pin actually being withdrawn from thecoupling member.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates the novel loadhandling apparatus as a whole, said apparatus comprising a coupling pin1 adapted to be attached at its upper end to the cable or chain of anysuitable supporting and carrying means such as a building crane and/or alifting chain and cable mechanism. The pin 1 hangs downward from thesupporting cable or chain and is adapted to enter the central opening 2in a hollow hub 3 of a supporting member illustrated as spider 4- whichmay be termed the upper spider of the load handling apparatus. Thespider 4 has a plurality of radially extending arms 5 provided withapertures 6 at varying radial distances to which may be removablyconnected depending supporting rods 7 as by pins or bolts. The number ofrods 7 employed and the radial position of the same will depend upon thematerial or members carried. In Fig. 1 three of these rods are shown andhave their lower ends connected to a lower spider 8 having a centralapertured hub 28; which spider is illustrated as of somewhat smallerdiameter than the upper spider 4 for certain installations as where thelower spider is adapted to be inserted in a quenching tank as whenquenching material carried by the spider 8. This quenching tank may beof the type disclosed and claimed in copending application Serial No.794,029, filed February 18, 1959, for quenching apparatus in which oneof the present applicants, Harold E. Mescher, is a joint applicant bothof which applications are owned by a common assignee. in such case theupper spider 4 is adapted to have the outer ends of its arms 5 rest uponthe load ring of the quenching tank. Since the apertures 6 aredistributed radially along the arms 5 of the spiders, the rods 7 may beadjusted radially outward or inward depending upon the size of the loador member to be quenched. A hold down assembiy, comprising a hub 9andradial arms 19 adjustable as to length is shown positioned between thetwo spiders 4 and 8 for retaining the work or part down upon the spider8 in use, the outer ends of the arms 10 being bifurcated at 111 forreceiving pins insertable into any one of a series of vertical apertures12 in the rods 7.

The lower end of the coupling pin 1 is provided with an enlarged conicalprojection or end portion 13 that in descending through aperture 2 isadapted to engage and actuate a pair of opposed substantially C-shapedholding bars or members 14 downwardly and outwardly to accommodate thepin 1, see especially Fig. 3, which bars are fixedly carried by bellcranklevers 15 pivoted as by pins 16 upon the spider 4. With thecoupling pin 1 fully inserted into the spider 4 as shown inFig. 2preparatory to lifting the spider and the load, the sub:

stant-iallyi opposed holding bars =14" engage the: lowerportion of thecoupling pin 1 directly behind-ashoulder" 17 provided by the conical'end portion 13; Sincethe upperportion of conical endportion- 13' is:somewhatlargerthan-the'pin 1-- the step or shoulder 17 is provided forengaging the holding; b'ars-so-tha-t thesebars- Fig. 4 shows the Iconical; endportion 13- of the pin 2 1 as it enters or leaves thespider4.= It willb'enoted as, theypinl islowered, the coniealendportibnliiwillstrike the opposed semicylindri'ca-l edgesof' the opposed holdingbars 14 and will swin'g these bars downwardly about their pivots 16sufficiently toenable the conical portion to pass throughthe substantialcylindrical opening-e provided between these bars whereupon theoverhanging; weighted portions 14' of'these bars will serve to swingthe-bars inwardly and engage the pin l directly behindttheshoulden17 asshown in- Fig. 2;; so that the cable may then-"beraised effecting theliftinglot the loadand=the movement of thesame by. the crane to anydesired'position such as inside a furnace or; effeetingthe lowering'ofthe load as when' it isdesired to lower the same into a quenching tankor pit.

When itis desired; to uncouple the coupling pin 1 fromthe spider4-'and;the loadcarried thereby, the crane operator will: lower the-load:supportingv spider=-8idown upon a suitable support. He will thencontinue to lower the; cable slightly as shown by the arrow in Fig;-ofthe-drawingsso that the pin 1' continues to move downwardly within-thehollowhub-Suntil a lower beveled shoulder 19 of a cylindrical boss.20-formedonthe pin 1 strikes the-semi-cylindricaledges of; the-opposedholding has 14-:and depresses; thesebars'as shown in Fig.5

thereby; turning the same: about their pivots 16; The

pins 16 by the downward movement of coupl-ing pin 1, the upper arms 21of hell crank levers engage the-lockingrecesses 25 due to the tendency.of the pin 1 moves outwardly, the bell crank levers '15 will turninwardly behind the conipal end portion 13 of the pin =1 and again intothe position shown in Fig. 4 whereby a the pin 1 is free to be removedcompletely from the spider. The holding bars 14 and the locking bars 23are thus again positionedprepa atory to reinserting the pin 1 into thehub of the spider *for another lifting and handling operation;v V

Thus it will be seen that, by merely controlling the position-ofipinl initsup and down motion; the crane operator by remote controlis able tocouple and uncouple th'e'pin lwith' respect tdtl'ie'spider 4;- asdesired, and withoutftheinecessityof autoperator: manually coupling oruncoupling the pin lot the spider, so that should the work ortreated-member-ZT carried by the lower spider 8 be in a heated conditionand hence unapproachable by personnel, or should this member con-,

' tainhot acid,- forr example, the same can .be. picked t up,mevedand-again loweredgto any position desired without any; dangertooperating, personnel. It. will, be. noted thatthe} novel load handlingapparatus of. this 1nven-. tion isrof simple construction using sturdy,ruggedpart-s which: can. withstand highv temperatures, acids, etc.,

without injury so that. the same has a long. life and is 'reliable inuse. Since the holdingzbars 14-.carry the load. directly in shear, thesebars are not deformed by high temperatures in use.

Since. many changes couldbe madeinthe above. constructionuand manyapparently widely difierent embodis mentszofthis. invention could bemade without. depart ing from-the scope thereof, it isintendedthat'allmattercontained in the above description .or. shown in vthe accompanying drawings shall-be interpreted as illustrative and notin atlimitin-g sense,

Whatis claimed is:

12- Load handling apparatus c c n 1prising aloadsupportingqmember,said-member havinga hub providedwith an opening. therethrough, holdingmeans; pivoted on said. member for, projecting into said hub opening, acoupling pin vertically movable-into. andout of; cooperative engagement;with said hub opening and having a projection thereon=cngageable withsaidsupporting-men ber holding means, said supporting member holding,means being causeditoturn about its pivotalsupportonsaid member byvertical movement of said coupling pin projection with. respect thereto,saidholding means acting to engage said pin-projection andsaidhubfinshear and efiect the. firm levers-23') to fall radially inwardly towardthe center of the spider, as illustrated inv Fig. 5. With the bell crankarms 21' th-usly engaged, the locking recesses 25 prevent levers 15 fromturning under the influence of the overhanging weighted portions 14 ofthe: holding bars so'that these holding bars are held substantially intheir positions as shown in Fig.5, whereupon the coupling pin *1 canbe-raised as shown by thearrows" ingarms- 21- from locking reoesses fisand enabling. the

weighted portions-14* to'turn bell crank levers 15- so that the ends ofarms'll again engage and. slide overi the curved surfaces 22 of thelocking levers so that as coupling of said pin to said supporting memberfor raising and loweringlthesame. I

2. A load: handling: apparatus as elaimedin. claim 1. wherein saidholding, means. comprises holding. bars .piv-

.oted upon said supportingmember for engaging said coupling pin.projectiontoeffect: the raisingofsaid supporting member and itsload-,'and locking;levers pivoted on said supporting, memberfor holdingsaid-lockingbars in disengaged position, said coupling pin having asecond projection thereon for engaging said holding bars and saidlocking: levers to. effect the release of said coupling pin frornsaidsupporting member. 7

3. Load; handling. apparatus as defined claim 1 wherein supporting rodsareremovably attached to said supporting member for supporting the load,a second supcompletelyremovable from said hub. membensaid member having.holding bars pivoted thereon and. said coupling pin having: a stopprojection for engaging said holding ars for turning the same intoabutting relation both to said stop projection and to said hub memberfor supporting said holding bars and said member.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein locking levers are pivoted onsaid member and actuated by movement of said coupling pin for engagingsaid holding bars to hold the same out of engagement with said stopprojection to thereby enable the disconnection of said coupling pin fromsaid member.

6. In a load handling device, a coupling of the character describedcomprising, an apertured supporting memher, a coupling pin adapted to bepassed into and out of the aperture of said supporting member, pivotedholding bars carried by said supporting member, said coupling pin havingan enlarged conical end portion for engaging and actuating said holdingbars to effect the engagement of said pin with said bars for supportingsaid member therepling pin from said member.

7. A load handling device as defined in claim 6, wherein said couplingpin engages said holding bars in 6 shear and said holding bars engagesaid supporting member in shear, whereby said load handling device iscapable of carrying relatively heavy loads under adverse conditionswithout any eccentric forces being exerted upon the coupling pin.

8. In apparatus of the character described, a coupling membercomprising, a hollow hub structure, a coupling pin having a conical endportion adapted to be passed into and out of said hollow hub structure,holding bars pivoted upon said hub structure and engageable by saidcoupling pin conical end portion for supporting said hub structure fromsaid pin, locking levers pivoted upon said hub structure, and cam meanson said coupling pin and spaced from its conical end portion foractuating said locking levers to effect the locking of said holding barsin disengaged position with respect to said coupling pin conical endportion, whereby the latter may be completely withdrawn from the hollowhub of said hub structure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,720,732 Jongedyk July 16, 1929 2,203,799 Shaffer June 11, 19402,634,156 Crimmel Apr. 7, 1953

